Tech Softball Remains Ranked for a Record 10 Straight Weeks
The 2019 Red Raiders broke the program record of nine straight ranked weeks set back in 1998 and 2011.
LUBBOCK, Texas – The Texas Tech softball team snapped a 21-year-old record of nine straight weeks in the Top 25 after it stood among the nation’s leaders for the 10th consecutive week on Tuesday, April 23.
Head coach Adrian Gregory’s Red Raiders came in at No. 13 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll, No. 16 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball and Softball America Polls and No. 21 in the NCAA Women’s Softball RPI. Tech has been ranked in top 15 of the NFCA Coaches Poll for eight straight weeks and has not dipped below No. 16 in the remaining polls since its initial ranking on Feb. 19.
Tech’s 1998 squad set the initial record after being ranked for nine consecutive weeks from March 18 – May 13. The Red Raiders went 45-19 under former head coach Renee Luers-Gillespie and finished fourth in the Big 12 Conference with a 10-7 record.
The Red Raiders tied the record in 2011 after being ranked from Feb. 15 – May 24. Under the direction of then-head coach Shanon Hays, Tech finished the year with a 42-16 overall record and made its fourth-ever NCAA Regional appearance in Tucson, Ariz., despite finishing eighth in the Big 12.
Currently fourth in the Big 12 standings, Tech’s series win against Kansas lifted the Red Raiders to 8-7 in league action and 35-9 overall – Gregory’s best mark since becoming head coach in 2015. Tech leads the Big 12 with 118 hits in conference play and sits second in the league with a .336 average at the plate through 44 games.
The Red Raiders continue Big 12 action with a key conference series at Oklahoma State on April 26-28 in Stillwater, Okla. For all the latest information on the Texas Tech softball team, visit TexasTech.com or follow @TexasTechSB on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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Shannon Carrico
